It's hard to imagine that for the first half-decade of his career, Sanath Jayasuriya was considered a bowler who could bat a bit. Think of him now and you think of forearms straight out of a smithy, shots hammered through point and cover and scythes over the leg side. You recall a man who could score equally briskly in every form of the game, who slashed and burned his way through bowling attacks. As with anyone who relied so much on extraordinary hand-eye coordination, there were troughs and lean times, but just as the obit writers got busy, he would produce another innings of supreme power. The bowling, always canny and relying more on variations in pace than sharp turn, became the supporting act, though 440 international wickets should tell you that he was pretty adept at what he did.

Following Mark Greatbatch's success at the 1992 World Cup, most teams were rethinking the way they approached the one-day game and Jayasuriya, who had trawled the lower reaches of the middle order till then, had his first stint as opener during the Hero Cup in India in 1993. It was only during a home series against Pakistan the following year that he established himself in the role and by the time the World Cup rolled around 18 months later, he had already chalked up his first century in whites, a frenetic stroke-filled effort in Adelaide.

The years that followed were both prolific and successful. People remember Aravinda de Silva's magical innings from the semi-final and final of the 1996 World Cup but it was Jayasuriya's withering assaults that deflated India in Delhi and England in the last eight. Soon after, he began to exact as heavy a toll on Test attacks, scoring at such a pace that Muttiah Muralitharan and friends had ample time to work their way through opposition batsmen.

After Arjuna Ranatunga's ouster, there was a four-year stint as captain that ended with a semi-final appearance at the 2003 World Cup, and just as the whispers grew about diminishing returns with the bat, he had one of his most successful years in 2004. There was a retirement announcement in 2006, but he was back within weeks, and the walk off the Test stage came only 18 months later, after a typically cavalier innings in Kandy.

The one-day flame continued to burn bright, and took Sri Lanka to another World Cup final in 2007, and he was instrumental in the Asia Cup win of 2008, a couple of months after it had seemed that the selectors' axe had fallen for the final time. The Indian Premier League gave him a new platform to showcase his big-hitting talent, but failure to replicate the success of the first season in subsequent campaigns was the surest sign that time had finally caught up with a man who was still pounding out one-day hundreds at the age of 39.

His election as a Member of Parliament in April 2010 and his subsequent failure at the World Twenty20 suggested that his international career may be at an end, but he made the longlist for the 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup, before being recalled to the one-day side for the series in England two weeks shy of his 42nd birthday.

Dileep Premachandran

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Timeline

February 17-19, 1989 Hundred on debut

Makes his first-class debut, playing Sri Lanka B against Karachi, in Karachi. Scores an 89-ball 102 in the second innings, but Sri Lanka B don't have enough time to chase down the 218-run target. The match is called off with their score at 145 for 3 in 26.4 overs. More such innings would be seen in Test cricket in the next two decades.

December 26, 1989 Ordinary international debut

On ODI debut, in Melbourne against Australia, scores 3 from No. 5 in a 30-run loss. Doesn't bowl.

Wins his first Man-of-the-Match award, not for his batting but his figures of 9.5-0-29-6 against England in Moratuwa.

October-November, 1993 Are we onto something?

Promoted to No. 3, scores quick fifties against Pakistan in back-to-back innings in Sharjah. These are his first and second half-centuries in 41 ODIs. Later in the month, he is promoted to open the batting against Zimbabwe in Patna.

December 8, 1994 Did you hear that explosion?

Smashes 140 off 143 balls against New Zealand in Bloemfontein. Has scored 140 out of the 235 by the time he gets out.

In his second Test as an opener, and 17th overall, scores his maiden Test century, against Australia in Adelaide. His 112 in the second innings follows a 48 in the first but, Australia still win by 148 runs.

March 1996 His finest hour

The 1996 Wolrd Cup. Sri Lanka win. Jayasuriya changes the face of ODI cricket by consistently giving Sri Lanka explosive starts. With 221 runs at a strike-rate of 131.54, and seven wickets at an economy-rate of 4.52, is named the Man of the Tournament.

April 1996 Fastest century and fifty

Singapore is the scene as he breaks the records for the fastest ODI century and fifty within six days. First smashes a hundred off 48 balls, and then a fifty off 17. The second effort, though, is followed by a collapse and a loss to Pakistan in the final.

Plunders 340 in the first Test against India in Colombo, the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan. His 576-run second-wicket partnership with Roshan Mahanama is the first 500-plus partnership in Test cricket.

Shows he is relevant in modern cricket, blasting 152 off 99 balls as Sri Lanka chase 322 with ridiculous ease in 37.3 overs at Headingley. Three days later, scored 157 off 104 balls against Netherlands as Sri Lanka post the highest-ever total in ODI history, 443.

During an ODI against Bangladesh, becomes only the ninth bowler in ODI history to have crossed 300 wickets. Add to it more than 12,000 runs, and you are staring at uniqueness.

September 14, 2007 Now for T20s

In the inaugural World Twenty20, Sri Lanka post 260 against Kenya, thus registering highest-ever scores in all three formats of the game. Jayasuriya has not only played all those games, but top-scored in them.

After a successful showing in the inaugural IPL, is brought back into the ODI side for the Asia Cup, on the insistence of Sri Lanka's sports minister.

July 6, 2008 Where I belong

Six days after having hit a century against Bangladesh to celebrate his 39th birthday, proves once again that he belongs at the top level, scoring an imperious 125 after Sri Lanka are 66 for 4 in the final of the Asia Cup. In the process he takes RP Singh for 26 runs in over, and his knock sets up a comfortable victory for India.

January 28, 2009 Old is gold

At 39 years and 112 days, becomes the oldest centurion in ODIs, with 107 against India in Dambulla.